Thunderbolt Networking Coming to Windows PCs Soon

At the NAB 2014 trade show in Las Vegas, Intel has announced that Thunderbolt Networking, which allows computers to connect together with a standard Thunderbolt cable to do high-speed transfers, is coming to Windows PCs soon.

By creating a virtual Ethernet bridge interface, Thunderbolt Networking provides 10GbE (gigabit Ethernet) throughput between the two devices. While this feature is currently available for Macs running OS X Mavericks, a driver will be released soon to bring support to Windows. When this happens, users can also use this method to transfer files between a Mac and a Windows PC. At 10Gbps, this is certainly way faster than copying over a network connection, or using an external hard drive or USB flash drive.

In June last year, Intel announced Thunderbolt 2, the current protocol that's capable of running at 20Gbps. Currently, it's mostly used for connecting external storage devices, HD video cameras, and monitors to Macs and PCs.